What were the conditions in 17th century London prisons?

Question

Does anyone have any information, or suggestions for sources, on conditions in Newgate or other London prisons in the mid-seventeenth century?

Would prisoners be confined to cells, or could they mingle? I've read 18th century accounts of women prisoners becoming pregnant in order to escape hanging, which implies some freedom of association. I know that there was a 'master's side' where prisoners with access to money could enjoy better conditions.

I've read various histories of London and searched online for info. on Newgate, but found nothing specific.

Answer 1

Prior to the advent of the separate and congregate systems, it was usual for prisoners to be treated according to their social rank and wealth. If you were a noble or merchant, you tended to be incarcerated in relatively cushy conditions. It was common for upper crest inmates to have access to five star meals, their servants if they had any, their personal clothes and jewelry, eyeglasses if they had them, etc. The "cells" these lucky inmates were confined to typically were a lot more like fancy bedchamber suites, completely with privies, comfortable beds, etc. As for the freedom of movement around the jail, that depended upon the facility. Some allowed almost unfettered movement around the facility, others charged fees for the privilege (as they did for basically everything else, such as food, cell rent, and even the removal of restraint devices!)

Prisoners low on the socioeconomic totem pole on the other hand, were often confined in the worst conditions gaols (jails) could offer at the time. They were poorly fed (prison didn't guarantee meals back then, so inmates lived on what their loved ones could bring them, which for 99% of the population, was very, very little), they remained in the rags they came in wearing until the clothes literally fell apart on them, the inmates were packed like sardines in crowded dungeons where diseases and vermin spread quickly and easily,